The Health Corner Vol. 34 – Carbs and Weight Control

Today, I would like to address the subject of weight control in regards to high fat/low carb diets.

One just has to look around to see that obesity is a major issue in the United States. It is estimated that over 60% of the population is obese. Of that 6o%, 35% are morbidly obese, meaning that percentage suffers overweight that is greater than 20% of the ideal body weight. The public seems to be struggling in this area more and more as time goes by, making overweight a serious health risk.

The reason obesity is the number one health risk in America is that it is the precursor to many potentially deadly health issues. These include heart attack, stroke, diabetes, degenerative diseases, etc. What is interesting is that over the last twenty years much of the American public has reduced fat intake by at least 17%. However, this does not seem to have had a positive effect on weight control or its resultant disease potential.

We have been convinced that it is a matter of calories and calories alone when it comes to weight loss. But, as I have said time and time again, there is more to it than just counting calories. The body is a dynamic, constantly adapting organism that is designed to go into starvation mode when denied adequate fat in the diet. When that happens, an imbalance of insulin upsets the endocrine system, and as a result, the body goes into a fat storage mode, storing the extra carbohydrate calories consumed as fat.

It is well known that the body can only burn so many calories in a day. Any excess is automatically converted into fat. This is also very typical of the body when going into starvation mode. The fat is stored for later use as insurance against potential food scarcity.

Reducing calories by reducing fat and increasing carbohydrates does not effectively handle weight control. People can literally starve themselves on a high carbohydrate/low fat diet and still gain weight. But a high fat/low carbohydrate diet is going to effectively cause one to go from a fat storage mode to a fat burning mode. The fat burning mode is going to cause one to lose weight. And I have noticed that once an ideal weight has been achieved on a high fat diet, one will cease losing weight and maintain that ideal. It seems that a high fat-low carbohydrate diet is also self-regulating.

I have done a great deal of research and reading into this matter and have seen very clearly the advantages to be gleaned from eating a high fat/low carb diet. I have, as a result, encouraged my patients to adopt this type of diet on many occasions. I do not set out to help my patients lose weight as the top priority. I repeat, weight loss is not the primary goal. But I have noticed that when a patient really adheres to the principle of this diet, he is healthier and tends to lose weight relatively easily.

This I see as a bonus of feeding the body what it needs to be fed in order to maintain good health. I hope you, the reader, can see the wisdom of adopting such a diet. And I hope that you will consider availing yourself of the well-founded counsel on diet to be found at Milford Chiropractic Clinic.